In a letter to NYS Department of Transportation Commissioner Matthew Driscoll, Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) requested that the current improvement plan to Ocean Parkway be modified. The current plan will eliminate right turns from the mainline of Ocean Parkway onto Avenue J, Avenue P and Kings Highway forcing drivers to turn a block earlier or later.
“We all agree that safety is the top priority. However, after requesting, receiving and reviewing a report of the accident pattern of high crash intersections from DOT, I am more perplexed,” said Assemblyman Hikind in the letter. The NYS DOT cited numerous accident statistics to justify the above changes. Assemblyman Hikind requested the same statistics from the local NYPD precincts, only to discover that these statistics did not indicate any bicycle accidents for the past two years and hardly any pedestrian accidents at these intersections as well.
“I believe some of the planned changes will make Ocean Parkway less safe, create more traffic and leave motorists more confused,” said Assemblyman Hikind. It will, “create more traffic along the service road and more of a hazard for pedestrians, especially children.” Additionally, 15 valuable parking spaces along the service road will be eliminated to implement these “improvements” along Ocean Parkway.
Assemblyman Hikind is urging everyone affected by these changes to contact NYS DOT Commissioner Driscoll at 518-457-4422 and urge him to modify this plan.
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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8 Responses
soon it will be impossible to drive in Brooklyn totally.
This is crazy. If you can’t turn onto avenue j the next turn is Ave L which is a dead end and the next block Ave M is a major commercial strip and if you have to go back to Ave j you will have to go to Ave M and Mcdonald Ave back to Ave j. Mr. Hikind is right this is a recipe for disaster especially for Ave M. In addition why couldn’t they reconfigure Bay Pky And Ocean Parkway to be like a regular turn instead of coming in at an angel at high speed. I would also agree Bay Pky entrance should be closed not Ave j.
I wish they would install left turn lights from Ave J and Ave P onto Ocean Parkway. Just witnessed a crash this week on Ave P and OP. I contacted David Greenfield who contacted DOT – they supposedly conducted a study last Aug. Nothing has changed. At every light change, there are at least 3+ cars going through complete red, because they were trying to turn left, or stuck behind someone turning left.
1. It doesn’t say if this is both for Northbound and Southbound traffic (ah yid is taking it as southbound).
2.It says from “mainline OP” which means that from the service lane you can still turn right. This is in effect now on kings highway from the E. 20’s to the E. 90’s and actually has made it safer.
Have any of you driven on 65th street. Left turns should not be permitted on 65th street. It drives me crazy
Hikind is right (oy vey twice in one week!). This adds traffic on the side streets (East 5th and East 7th). That’s even crazier.
The DOT isn’t trying to make it easier for cars, to the contrary. They are actively trying to make it harder an push their leftist agenda of lesser cars on the road, congestion pricing, etc. It’s madness.
I strogly agree with 5. Instead of prohibing rights on OP they should eliminate lefts on 65th